Troy was a city in the region of Asia Minor in modern-day Turkey, which was the setting of one of the most famous events in Greek mythology, the Trojan War. The Greek fleet set sail for Troy after the city's prince, Paris, abducted or, according to other sources, eloped with Helen, the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta. Menelaus, his brother Agamemnon, and other Greek leaders bound by the Oath of Tyndareus, organised the expedition to take Helen back. When they arrived in Troy, they camped near the River Scamander, while the main battles took place in the plain of Scamander, between the river and the hill on which Troy was located.

On the site where Troy was considered to have been, archaeological excavations have revealed ruins of ancient cities, which are actually believed to be Troy. As time went by, one city was built on top of the ruins of the previous one; as a result, nine layers of an equal number of distinct "Troys" have been found on site.